Coping With The Unexpected

by Speaking Tips | April 26, 2004

As everyone knows, life occasionaly thows you a curve ball. This is just as true when
giving a presentation as it is with any other aspect of your career, social or family
life. When surprises happen, how you react to them can make all the difference to both
you and your audience. Whether they are perceived by the audience as a humorous interlude
or a presentation disaster is your call.

Bad things happen to the best speakers and program organizers no matter what precautions
they take. You can never know for sure what will happen no matter how carefully you plan.
How you react to the unexpected is what people will remember. Smile even though you may
feel like strangling someone. Keep your cool and sense of humor then make the best of
the situation. Acknowledge that some things are totally out of your control. The good news
is that events that seem like a fiasco as they occur will later become a source of
amusement. You can even add them to your repertoire of humorous stories for use in future
presentations.

Speaker Related Situations

The speaker does not show or is running late.

Where possible and appropriate, ask the speaker to send a copy of their speech for
distribution to the audience. Ask the speakers who are present if they can speak longer.
Get permission from the audience to delay or change the order of speakers. Lead a
discussion with the audience on the topic.

You are a speaker and lose your voice.

Sometimes home or doctor prescribed remedies will enable you to "croak" through. Bring
water and throat lozenges with you to any speaking assignment. At a minimum, if you have
well prepared handouts and other reference materials, these can be distributed to the
audience.

The panelist before you uses up most of your time.

A good planner should meet with all the panelists beforehand and arrange for the moderator
to signal when time is up. Be prepared to compress your remarks. Offer to meet with the
audience after the program or let them know how to reach you for more information. Come
prepared with a stand-alone handout.

The panelist before you begins talking about your topic.

Politely interrupt and remind the panelist that this is your territory. Unfortunately,
panels are often mine fields in this regard.

At the last minute you are told that you will have 15 minutes to speak instead of
45 minutes you were told initially or vice versa.

First of all, ten to fifteen minutes is more than sufficient for you to convey your main
points. You should always be ready to "shrink" your speech. You can "stretch" a speech to
fill more time by having additional supporting material prepared or by holding a
questions and answer session or a discussion.

You expect an audience of about 15 and bring 20 handouts. You arrive to find 50
people in the audience.

Get the program moderator to run off more copies. Alternatively, collect business cards
and offer to send the audience.

A heckler in the audience starts making nasty remarks and asking antagonistic
questions.

Remain calm, listen carefully and respond non-defensively. Acknowledge the person and show
respect for their position. Agree with any truth in the comments. If the heckler persists,
suggest that the two of you meet after the presentation for a private discussion of these
issues.

A group of people in the audience start a noisy conversation while you are
speaking.

Stop speaking. The silence will get their attention. Ask them if they have something
they want to share with the audience at large.

Your introducer completely distorts what you are going to talk about.

Use a humorous comment to turn it into a joke and make the correction.

You loose your train of thought in mid-sentence.

Pause and hope the train comes into the station. If it doesn't, ask the audience if
that has ever happened to them and continue. Usually, the thought will return later
and when it does, mention it.

You allow 15 minutes at the end for questions and answers but there are no
questions.

Get the session started with a question of your own "Some one asked me earlier what to
do if...". Alternatively, ask a friend in the audience to share an experience you know
she has had. You can also prime members of the audience beforehand to ask specific
questions.

A novice speaker on your program begins but is terrified and cannot continue the
presentation.

As the moderator, take over. Thank the speaker and go on with the program. After the
program, counsel the novice to get some non-threatening speaking experience immediately
so this incomplete experience does not become permanent speaking avoidance.

You are doing a full day seminar. Your notes and handouts are in the luggage you
checked at the airport. When you arrive, it appears your luggage went to another city.

Never check the luggage with your notes or the master for your handouts in it. In
addition, never let your hotel transfer your luggage from one room to a new room.